Soon after he was signed to a max contract with the New York Knicks in the summer, Amar’e Stoudemire turned from basketball player to recruiter. And after the dust settled on the LeBron James/Dywane Wade/Chris Bosh union, his gaze – along with every Knicks fan’s – turned toward Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.

Back then he said he’d like to team with Anthony in New York. Today, as he sat in front of assorted media during Knicks shootaround, he wasn’t about to back off of those comments.

“Again, we all love Carmelo here,” Stoudemire said. “We understand what type of player he is and how he can help the team. But we can’t focus on that right now. We have to focus on the situation at hand and try to rack up some wins.”

There is no doubt the star forward has already thought a time or two about what the Knicks might look like with Anthony. New York has limped out of the gate to a 3-7 record and Stoudemire has voiced his displeasure about the situation.

But asked if he has talked to Anthony about trades or anything else about Nuggets’ star’s situation, he said no.

“I haven’t talked to him this season yet,” Stoudemire said. “We text back and forth every now and then about good game, congratulations, things of that nature. But we really haven’t talked about a specific team or situation at all.”

The two are very good friends.

“I love Carmelo,” Stoudemire said. “He’s a good friend of mine. Anytime you could team up with great friends of yours it would be a lot of fun. But again, we both have our individual situations with our particular teams, and we have to focus in on that. So we can’t determine what the near future holds. But anytime you can team up with a good friend, that would be great.”

Anthony is off to a solid start with the Nuggets, averaging a near double-double of 24.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He had the first 20-20 game of his career on Monday night against Phoenix, finishing with 20 points and 22 rebounds.

“I see him more physical this year, to be honest with you,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He had a couple dunks last game that we haven’t seen, and he looks good.”

Because Anthony is playing so well, Stoudemire says it wouldn’t shock him to see Anthony stay in Denver the entire season.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Stoudemire said. “Denver is playing well, and he’s playing well. Still not totally sure how it’s all going to play out.”

Still, Stoudemire warned, “It’ll be tough. As a team you don’t want a player to leave and then you don’t get nothing for him. So it’s a tough decision for any organization. But again, it can happen that way. It happened that way this offseason. So you never know what may happen.”

“I hope not, because it is part of the business, something that you have to deal with daily,” D’Antoni said. “And as soon as you learn that’s just the way it is and understand that basketball speaks, you get on the court do the best you can and understand it’s a business. That’s part of being in the league. Hopefully it hasn’t, but you’d have to ask him.”

With new players like Al Harrington, Shelden Williams and Gary Forbes while injured players Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin are on the bench, Nuggets coach George Karl has played a seemingly never-ending game of mix-and-match with different lineup combinations and rotations. They change depending on a number of constantly evolving variables.

But there’s one lineup where the tinkering may be able to stop: We’ll call it Karl’s Hustle Lineup. The quintet of Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, Al Harrington, Gary Forbes and Arron Afflalo is doing the trick.

On Thursday those five ushered the Nuggets past the Lakers in the most important stretch of the contest, taking the Nuggets from 95-90 down at 10:03 to 101-95 up at 7:39.

Harrington was the leader.

His defense against Lakers center Pau Gasol gave the Nuggets’ rally staying power by removing the ability to get easy, high-percentage buckets from the Lakers’ arsenal. He fronted Gasol for the majority of the period, which most often discouraged entry passes. On one occasion he tipped away an attempted pass down to Gasol, which sparked a Nuggets fast break.

It forced the Lakers and Gasol to alter a tried-and-true game plan a bit by bringing him up for screen-roll plays. But the Nuggets had those bottled up as well. Once, when Gasol did catch the ball in the post, Harrington forced him across the lane without giving ground. Deterred from getting the shot he wanted the Lakers center passed the ball instead – to a waiting Nuggets player.

The Lakers had five possessions in the period from 10:03 to 7:39, and this is how they went:

*A missed shot and a Nuggets defensive rebound, leading to a fast break

*A Harrington deflection, leading to a Lawson steal of a Matt Barnes pass to Gasol

Four turnovers – three of them steals – zero points. And like that, the Nuggets had an 11-0 run and lead that set them up in prime position to win the game.

In addition to fronting Gasol, the Nuggets trapped Bryant on pick-and-rolls. One trap led to the pass that Smith got a hand on and Forbes picked off. Smith and Lawson had the most active hands of the bunch as they constantly harassed Lakers ballhandlers.

While this might have been the most effective those five have been in any single defensive stretch this young season, it’s by no means the first time they’ve shown the ability to do so. What they give up in height, they’ve made up for in sheer scrappiness. Forbes is a long-armed, instinctive defender; Lawson and Smith both boast quick feet and fast hands; Afflalo is a top-shelf on-ball defender; and Harrington has a sneaky, undervalued combination of strength and quick hands.

Eventually Martin and Andersen will be back, which will alter the dynamic and help improve the Nuggets defense overall. But until they come back, Lawson, Smith, Forbes, Afflalo and Harrington are proving they can not just hold their own, but spark the team on the defensive end.

Thursday, it was that collective that saved the Nuggets and sunk the previously unbeaten Lakers.

We’ll keep this quick, well, because there wasn’t a ton to analyze from Friday night’s preseason game against Portland, but there are some critical things to keep an eye on when you’re evaluating this team going forward. And some things to keep in mind in the realm of what matters and what doesn’t.

What Matters:

Development Of Shelden Williams And Rendaldo Balkman – These two players will see ample time at the start of the season due to the injuries of Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin, so keep an eye on how they are playing. Don’t put a ton of stock into Williams’ 21 points and 14 rebounds against Portland. While he has been told to be aggressive offensively, he won’t be asked to produce like that during the season, and the ball won’t find him as much with Carmelo Anthony/Chauncey Billups/Al Harrington playing the entire game, rather than just two quarters. But it’s good to know that he’s capable of popping in a game like that; the Nuggets are sure to need it a few times during the season.

Denver can just trade the dude to a team that would, essentially, rent Melo for a season (or some of the season, depending when the trade is made). But that team wants the hope that Melo will re-sign with them the next summer, when Melo is a free agent. As CBSsportsline.com reported, Melo is yapping in NYC that he wants to be in the city, which hurts the Nuggets’ poker game – if teams believe Melo won’t re-sign with them, they’ll then offer less to Denver in exchange for Melo. Also, if the Nuggets are going to make a move this summer, they better do so before more teams use up their cap space.

If the Nuggets hold onto Melo all season, and can’t get the truth out of him (the truth of whether or not he’ll re-sign in the summer), the Nuggets then aren’t just hoping he’ll re-sign — they’re gambling, too. Both Cleveland and Toronto gambled last season, and both teams look to be terrible this season.

The Nuggets could work out a sign-and-trade situation with Melo this summer (or during the season), and once he has the extension under contract, he could be the tail wagging the dog, forcing the franchise to trade him to likable destinations.

But look – the New York Knicks don’t have that much to offer (unless Denver thinks the future lies in Danilo Gallinari), the Nets have some cap room to work with, but not many enticing parts besides Brook Lopez. And the Clippers are building young with studs such as Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon; if they traded those guys, they’d basically become the Denver Nuggets, for better or worse. And I can’t see Denver trading Melo to the other L.A. team.

It’ll be interesting to see Melo’s state of mind during the season. Right now, it’s easy to turn down a piece of paper (AKA the extension), or push aside a piece of paper. But what happens when the season starts, and that piece of paper representing the Nuggets becomes the actual Nuggets – the Kroenkes and George Karl and Tim Grgurich and Chauncey Billups and all these people whom he’ll spend every day with? Suddenly, it’s not so easy to say “I want out” of your basketball family.

The Nuggets are in a tough spot because they’re basically built for this coming season. Most of the key players – and the head coach, too – are in the last season of a contract. The 2011-12 Nuggets will look completely different, even if Melo returns. The thing they’re most-worried about is having a “rebuilding half-decade.” They don’t want a Dikembe Mutombo situation. If they trade Melo, they’re not going to get a Melo back, because there aren’t many second-team All-NBA players available in trade. A GM once told me that you don’t trade a “great” player for two “good” players, but in this situation, Denver will likely have to get some “good” freaking players because the great-player equivalent is unlikely available.

Which brings us to the new GM. As I’ve written several times, former Phoenix exec David Griffin is the frontrunner – he’s well-liked and has the most experience of all the current candidates. There will be so much pressure on him to make sure that if Denver trades Melo, Denver is on a fast-track rebuilding plan, a la Seattle/Oklahoma City or Portland or Chicago (now, of course, these teams were blessed with franchise-changing draft picks). Whatever happens, this guy must be able to plan for the future and think six years down the road, not just six months down the road. A few years ago, the New Orleans Hornets locked up some big contracts in efforts to win ASAP, upon their triumphant return to New Orleans in 2007-08 (after two post-Katrina seasons in Oklahoma City). They indeed had a splendid 2007-08 season with Chris Paul at the helm, finishing second in the West — but the following season, everything fell apart with injuries and immovable contracts. And the season after that (2009-10) the coach was fired and then, finally, the GM, this summer.

Back to the six month/year thing. Let’s say the Nuggets trade their superstar to Team X and get good-but-not-great Player A and Player B. Well, after the 2010-11 season, the Nuggets lose their nucleus, except for Ty Lawson and maybe Chauncey Billups if they re-sign him. So then this new front office, with some cap space, has to find the right piece to match with Ty, Chauncey, Player A and Player B. But there aren’t that many great players available in free agency next summer, compared to this summer — and moreover, other teams will have much more cap space than the Nuggets anyway (so the Nuggets wouldn’t even necessarily be in the running for a big-name free agent).

Lastly, Melo is on twitter (@carmeloanthony), but doesn’t often tweet actual thoughts; on the contrary, he normally promotes certain music or business things. But yesterday, he tweeted:

Funny how people come up with there own analysis of a situation. I tell you boy……. Unbelievable

Nuggets big man Chris Andersen had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left ring finger. “The Birdman” broke the finger on March 13 at Memphis but played through the injury for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

Of course, Birdman is also recovering from knee surgery — Andersen had surgery on his right patella tendon in June He told The Denver Post this month, when asked about his return: “Training camp or not, I’m not shooting for any date. I’m just trying to get (my knee) right. I don’t want to get my expectations high and then get down on myself because I didn’t come back by that time. Or, if I do come back by that time, I could (possibly) mess my knee up because I wanted to come back then. It’s pointless. I’m taking my time.”

Last season, he scored 41 points in game at Pepsi Center for the Knicks. The new Nuggets forward was 14-for-24 from the field – 4-for-8 from 3-point range – and he also snatched a team-high 10 rebounds (video below).

Of course, Harrington was overshadowed that night by his soon-to-be-teammate, Carmelo Anthony, who poured in FIFTY points in the Nuggets’ 128-125 win in the Nov. 27 win.

In a photo provided by ESPN, LeBron James sits with Jim Gray before an interview on ESPN on Thursday, July 8, 2010, in Greenwich, Conn. James said that he's decided to join the Miami Heat and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the championship he covets. (Rich Arden, ESPN via The Associated Press)

LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat tonight, joining fellow Olympians Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for the greatest trio since Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Here are my initial thoughts:

— Miami will be good next season.

— It’s weird to think that there could be a number of games when LeBron’s performance will be the third-best on his team.

— Yes, there’s a pretty darn good chance that LeBron James will finally get a ring, but let’s talk about legacy for a moment. EVERY single time someone talks about LeBron being an NBA champion, that person will also bring up that LeBron did it with two superduperstars as his teammates. Three No. 1s, if you will. People make a big deal about Kobe’s first three rings being “shared” with Shaq. Even if Kobe wins his sixth next season (tying MJ), some folks will still say that three of Kobe’s six were won with the greatest center of his generation (and in those three seasons, Shaq won an MVP and finished third in the voting twice). What’s LeBron’s thinking here? I thought the guy wanted to be the next Jordan, the next billionaire basketballer? Yes, championships are the goal. But in this rare circumstance with LeBron — a-once-in-a-generation talent — doesn’t he want to try to win a championship (or seven) in which he is unequivocally the best player on his team?

Kenyon Martin (left knee) and Chris Andersen (left ankle) both did limited workouts during Denver’s practice today. Andersen will be a game-time decision on Wednesday at Oklahoma City, while Martin remains out, hoping to return before the regular season ends on April 13.

Point guard Chauncey Billups has a left quadriceps contusion but is probable for Wednesday, as is reserve Malik Allen, who has a right groin strain.

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Looking back at last night’s game, it was J.R. Smith in a nutshell (and at what point will a person say “in a nutshell,” and I WON’T think of Austin Powers?).

If you wanted to sum up the magnificent and maddening J.R. in just one game, Thursday’s game would be it.

Magnificent: Playing alongside both Anthony Carter and Ty Lawson in the second quarter, Smith kept Denver afloat with eight points in the quarter (the most on the Nuggets). He unleashed the coolest play of the week (YouTube video above) and also slammed a crowd-raising alley-oop. He also showed that good things happen when you dribble-penetrate, including some nifty passing (he finished the night with three assists and no turnovers, while scoring 15 points).

Maddening: Denver entered the game after a wretched road trip. After just 12 assists at Dallas in the previous game, acting coach Adrian Dantley put the onus on assists. He even wrote on the locker room board “40-7,” in reference to Denver’s record when it has 20 or more assists. But in the first three quarters, I counted at least four possessions where Smith got the ball really early in the shot clock, and instead of getting the offense into motion, he just hoisted up a shot. And there was a fifth instance in the second quarter where he got the ball in the flow of the offense — and clearly had opportunities to pass — but instead he forced a shot which, fittingly, was an airball.

And Smith can hurt an opponent so often with his 3-point shooting, but at times he can hurt his team by shooting them too often. On Thursday, he was 2-for-10 from 3-point range, while getting to the free throw line just once the whole night (on the aforementioned YouTube basket).

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.